New Swiss Stamps

Swiss Post has launched an innovative stamp that you can not only look at, lick and stick, but that also makes music.The stamp measures 168 × 137 millimetres and rotates on the record player at 33 rpm. The tune it plays isn’t Louis Armstrong though, but a well-known catchy little number. When I get my hands on one of these musical stamps, my hands will be shaking with excitement and it’ll take me straight back to the day I received my first record.

TheLindauMessenger,orMilanMessenger, was the name given to the a transalpine courier service employing late-medieval communication, trade and transport technology as of the first half of the 14th century. At this time, regular messenger services were set up on the unsafe and irregular terrain of the transit routes be- tweenkeylocations,inthiscasebetween Lindau on Lake Constance and Milan. The Lindau Messenger was not a stage- coach driver, nor was he a carter or a pack-horse driver. He operated instead as a sort of trusted confidant. The prices of the messenger services were high, and the position was lucrative for a long time. The first part of the journey involved two hours on a boat to Fussach. Following a five-hour journey, the messenger reached Feldkirch and the next day travelled to Chur via Luzisteig. The first recorded delivery by the Lindau Messenger took place in the early 16th century,

Swiss Post is launching a new series of stamps entitled “Wildlife”. The set comprises four stamps featuring species found in the Swiss National Park, the Val Müstair and through- out the rest of Switzerland, namely the mouse weasel, the Alpine marmot, the spotted nutcracker and the red deer.

The stamp by the painters and plasterers! Their job is predominantly about making things look nicer or different using colour, texture, effects and techniques. The right tool and knowing how to use it are key success factors. In the SwissSkills Bern 2014 stamp com- petition, the Swiss Association of Painters and Plasterers fought off competition from ten other entrants to be crowned winners.

Graphic designer Urs Lieber, who de- signed the stamp on behalf of the associ- ation, decided to base the motif on paint- ers’ and plasterers’ tools: paintbrushes, rollers, scrapers, smoothing trowels, plas- ter iron, but also buckets and tins of paint. We are surrounded by colour in our daily lives, and it has an influence on how we feel. Colour is therefore a key element of the stamps. The design focuses on the in- terplay between colour and form. The stamp is also designed to appeal to young people, which is why bright and contrast- ing colours were chosen. The red in the background represents Switzerland, and links up to SwissSkills Bern 2014.

Garfield first appeared in 41 US newspa- pers on 19 June 1978. He has since not only featured in thousands of newspa- pers and magazines, but also appeared infilms, videos, books, computer games, on toys, mugs, in a smartphone app – and now also on two stamps from Swiss Post. The secret to Garfield’s success is his cyni- cal approach to all-too-human problems and the way he parodies life. It’s little wonder, then, that the quirky cat has been delighting millions of fans across the globe with his crazy stories for over 35 years.